Papering Over the Narrative: Brussels and Vilnius Scramble Under US Pressure

At a hotel in Vilnius, the annual gathering of Europe’s anti-disinformation apparatus met an unexpectedly low-tech obstacle: white adhesive stickers. Days before the start of #Disinfo2026, organized by the Brussels-based non-profit EU Disinfo Lab, official sponsors scrambled to cover their own logos on printed promotional flyers and wipe their names from the event’s website.

The diplomatic scramble followed direct pressure from the United States State Department. American officials took issue with a single panel discussion titled "USA as a FIMI threat: adapt, acknowledge, push back." The session explored whether Washington itself could be categorized as an actor in foreign information manipulation and interference. Internal documents revealed that American officials expressed gratitude to Lithuania for treating the panel’s framing as reprehensible and curtailing its involvement. Communications regarding the matter appeared to originate in part from the office of Sarah B. Rogers, the US undersecretary of state for public diplomacy.

The reaction from host nation Lithuania was swift and subservient. Officials in Vilnius promptly abandoned their official sponsorship. Lithuania has cancelled its participation in ‘Disinfo 2026’ as several parts of the conference programme differ from the official position of the Government, stated the country's foreign ministry. The retreat coincides with efforts by Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevicius to convince Donald Trump to establish a permanent American military base on Lithuanian soil, even offering to cover the costs. The US currently maintains a rotating armored battalion of nearly 1,000 troops in the country.

The European External Action Service demonstrated its own masterclass in bureaucratic hypocrisy. The EU’s diplomatic wing officially withdrew its branding, admitting that the conference framing failed to align with official European stances, which only designate Russia and China as information threat actors in formal reporting. Yet behind the scenes, Brussels continues to fund the event. The machine quietly keeps taxpayer money flowing to the organizers while stripping its emblem from public view to dodge awkward political conversations with Washington.

Canada similarly scaled back its public endorsement, with Global Affairs Canada noting that following changes to the framing of several panel discussions, GAC decided to revise its participation in those sessions at the EU DisinfoLab 2026 conference. France, also contacted by American representatives, refused to alter its commitments, with a diplomatic source emphasizing support for civil society. Meanwhile, former US official Nina Jankowicz observed that Washington was using its weight to suppress criticism from its own citizens.

Written by Freya Stensrud freya.stensrud@alpineweekly.com